It is sometimes necessary or otherwise desirable to dilate a bodily passage, such as an airway, using a balloon catheter. For example, when an airway becomes narrowed, balloon dilation—the dilation of the airway using a balloon catheter—provides an alternative to radical surgical approaches for opening the airway. Conventional dilation procedures advance a balloon catheter over a previously-placed wire guide and move the balloon to an inflated configuration to effectuate dilation. However, these procedures are complicated by the need to determine the diameter of the balloon during the procedure, which can cause damage to the bodily passage if overinflated or fail to provide the necessary dilation if underinflated.
One method of determining the diameter of the balloon during treatment is to inflate the balloon with an inflation device containing a pressure gauge. However, this approach has significant drawbacks because it requires the use of a pressure gauge that provides a numerical value representing the pressure of a fluid disposed within the balloon. A user must observe the numerical value representing the pressure and subsequently reference the device labeling to determine the diameter of the balloon. This is accomplished, for example, by referencing a chart or table that correlates the numerical value representing the pressure with a diameter of the balloon. This increases the potential for human error during the conversion process between pressure and diameter and increases the time and complexity of the procedure.
Therefore, a need exists for improved systems, methods, and kits for providing the diameter of a balloon during treatment.